Spike-machine



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PHILIP P. TRAYSER, OE BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

SPIKE-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 9,474, dated December 14, 1852.

To all whom @'25 may concern.'

Be it known that I, PHILIP I). TRAYsnR, of the city and county ofBaltimore and State of Maryland, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Machines fo-r Making I-Iook or Brad-Headed Spikes, 0fwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact description, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, which make part of thisspecification, and in which- Figure l, is a view in perspective of amachine having my improvements applied thereto, in which the severalparts are in the proper position to receive the spike-rod and commencethe operation of making a spike. Fig. 2 is a top view of themachine withthose parts that project above the frame removed to show thegripping-die closed, the knife in its forward position, and a blanksevered from the rod. Fig. 3, represents a longitudinal section of themachine at the line X X of Fig. 2, with the parts in the position whichthey occupy when the gripping and pointing dies are closed and the spikepointed, and Fig. t, is a similar view with the dies and heading punchin the position which they respectively occupy when the spike is headedand ready to be discharged.

The machine represented in the accompanying drawings, is made with astrong frame (A) to support the several part-s of the mechanism againstthe powerful strain to which they are subject in forming a spike. Uponthe top of this frame a cam shaft (B) is mounted which originates theseveral movements of the different parts, and determines the extent ofthose movements and the order in which they relatively take place.

The die-box for holding the blank and shaping it into a spike, consistsof one stationary part (C) and two moving parts (D and E|,) and whichact in connection with a heading punch. The stationary part (C) whichreceives the end (F) is the heading punch of the spike-rod, should, likethe moving parts be made of tempered steel; it has a rabbet (a) in theupper edge of its inner endv the side whereof corresponds in shape withone edge and the bottom, with one side of the spike to be formed; at theend of this rabbet at which the rod is fed into the diebox, a recess(Z2) is formed by making a rabbet in the corner of the die block atright angles to the rst (a) the angle (c) formed by the meeting of thesides of the two rabbets (a and b) constitutes the fixed member of theshears or cutter for severing the blank from the rod, and is at such adistance within the extremity of the bottom of the rabbet (a), that theblank when cut off will have room to be drawn out to a thin point. In aline with the rabbet (a) of the stationary die, a groove (el) is made inthe frame wide enough to permit the spike rod to pass through it intothe die-box.

The gripping die (D) consists of a rectangular block of metal which,together with the knife (e) should be secured in a box that slides inguides at right angles to the die box, or the knife and gripping die maybe made in one piece which may be connected directly with the movingmechanism. It would in general be preferable to make the gripping dieand knife in separate pieces, and secure them in a sliding box in orderto facilitate their removal for sharpening, repairs, or replacement byothers. After the end ofthe rod has been inserted into the diebox, thegripping-die (D) and the knife or moving member (c) of the shears, arecaused to approach the stationary die-block (C), the knife (e) being inadvance of the die (D) and its cutting edge within the end of the diebox, will cut the blank olf the bar a short distance within the end ofthe diebox, and by the continued forward movement, the die will pressthe blank against the side o-f the rabbet, and the knife will bend theend of the rod into the recess (b) as shown in Fig. 2, the blank and rodbeing meanwhile prevented from rising out of the die-box by a projectingcap (a). The forward movement of the knife (c) and gripping-die (D) isproduced by the extension into a right line of the toggle-joint levers(D) which are flexed when the die and knife are drawn back, oneextremity of these levers is hinged to the heel of the grippingdie andthe other to a bracket (f) at the side of the frame (A). The extensionof the levers is effected by connecting their central joint by alink-rod (s) with one extremity of a crooked lever (D2) pivoted to theside of the frame; the other extremity of the lever has a shoe formed onit to bear against a cam (D3) on the shaft (B), by which the rear end ofthe lever is raised to depress its front end, to close the die (D), andgrip the blank which it holds until the pointing and heading arecompleted, after which, the cam releases the lever and permits itsforward extremity to be raised, the toggle-joint levers (D) to beflexed, and the gripping-die (D) with the knife to be drawn back by aspring (g) to the position represented in Fig. l. After the knife hasbeen moved forward with the gripping-die (D) so as to sever the blankfrom the rod, and grasp it firmly, the pointing die (E) descends tocompress the point of the blank into the proper shape as seen in Fig. 3.The face of this die is the counterpart in shape of the side of theshank and the point of the spike, and is jointed to the end of a lever(E) the latter mounted on a rock shaft (7L) which is supported onstandards (z') erected on the top of the frame (A) the rear end of thislever has a shoe (j), formed on it which rests upon a cam (E2), on thecam shaft (B) which at the pro-per time raises it, and depresses itsopposite end with the pointing-die, in which depressed position thelatter is held until the blank is headed and ready to be discharged,after which, the cam releases the lever and allows the spring (K seeFig. l) to depress its rear end again and raise its front end with thedie into the position represented in Fig. 1.

The pointing-die (E) is pressed forward against the stop or cap (a)which extends over the front end of the die (C), by a spring (T) on theunder side of the lever (E) to which it is attached; the front corner ofthis die projects forward so as enter a recess formed in the side of theknife behind the cutting edge to give sufficient room for the point ofthe spike to be drawn out to a thin edge, as the die descends, thisprojecting portion which forms the point of the spike, is held back bythe stop (a) so that it comes in contact with the blank before the partsbehind it, and strikes the blank a short distance from the end, and asthe end of the blank yields to fill up the space left in the end of thedie-box, the point of the die aided by the spring (T) follows thisyielding until the lower face of the portion of the die behind thepoint, becomes parallel to the lower side of the die-box as seen inFigs. 3 and .4, when the pointing of the blank will be completed and thedie-box just filled with it.

As the die is not moved forward to point the spike by a positive motionbut by a spring (T) there is no danger of breaking either the die, orthe cutter (e) in case any obstruction should be interposed between thepoint of the die, and the back of the knife, as the spring would in sucha case allow the die simply to descend without moving forward, making aslightly shorter,

and less perfectly formed spike. When the pointing die, as in machinesheretofore made, has all its movements positive, in case of anobstruction, such for example as too great an accumulation of metal, byreason of a swell or prot-uberance of the rod, the descent of the diewould be resisted until it or the cutter would break or bend, to givevent for the excess of metal. My improved arrangement of the spring dieavoids all danger of breakage from the cause just mentioned. The camwhich causes this die to descend is so shaped, that it will allow thepointing die to rise out of the recess in the knife before the latter isdrawn back. After the gripping die (D) and pointing die (E) have beenclosed upon the blank as described, and the point-ing is completed,nothing remains but to form the head which is done by forcing a punch(F) against the protruding end of the blank and upsetting it into theshape seen in Fig. 4.

The punch is composed of a sliding bar, having a die fitted to, orformed on its forward extremity, the face of which die is thecounterpart in shape and position of the top o-f the head to be formedby it. The punch slides in guides formed in the cross bars (0) of theframe, and is driven forward by a cam (F) on the cam shaft (B) and iscaused to retrograde by means of a spring (n see Fig. l), on itsunderside as soon as the cam has passed the shoe (p) formed on its rearextremity.

rIhe spike being now complete, the die-box is opened that the finishedspike may be discharged, by the insertion of the end of the spike-rod,to have another blank cut off it. Previous to the insertion of the rodinto the die-box, it is turned so that the portion of it bent aside inthe act of cutting ofl' the previous blank will hang downward in such aposition, that it will be upset into the proper shape to form a head bythe forward motion of the punch In entering the rod into the die-box, itis pushed forward until its bent extremity strikes the face of theheading punch (F) which thus acts as the gage to determine the point atwhich the blank is to be cut off the rod. The operation just describedof closing the dies (D and E) upon the blank being repeated upon asecond blank the latter will be cut off to the proper length, pointed,and headed.

I wish it to be understood that I do not confine myself to anyparticular form or arrangement of the several parts of the machine Ihave just described, provided the spike is headed and pointed by themode of operation I have described, as a great number of changes may beintroduced into the machine that will not in any way affect theprinciple upon which it works, indeed the improvements which I have madecould be introduced with advantage either separately or together intovarious machines novv in forward movement, substantially as herein use.set forth. l0

What I claim as my invention and desire In testimony whereof I havehereunto subto secure by Letters Patent isscribed my name. 5 Thecombination of the hinged pointing PI-IILIP I). TRAYSER.

die (E) pressed forward by a spring, with Witnesses: the guard or stop(a) or the equivalent SAMUEL RINGGOLD,

thereof, which guides the die and limits its GEO. P. D. BRICE.

